Electrics and gas
The consumer unit is under the stairs behind stored paint. What fire-precaution comment might a survey make, and what landlord EICR has it not become?
A survey might comment that the consumer unit under the stairs is hemmed in by stored paint, so access is obstructed and combustible material is piled beside the electrical equipment. That is a fire-precaution observation about what was seen. It has not become a landlord EICR. An electrical installation condition report is a tested certificate with its own status, including in the rented sector. This visit did not test the circuits and did not produce that certificate. The comment, if made, is about storage and location. It is not the landlord's electrical report.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Under-stair cupboards are where units and clutter meet. Paint, solvents and boxes can hide the cover, delay someone switching off the supply, and add fuel next to the equipment. A surveyor can say the unit was not clear and that paint was stored there. They cannot, from that scene, issue the periodic inspection a landlord regime expects, and they should not be read as having done so because the words fire and consumer unit appeared. The home survey's limit on electrics stays in force: seen, not tested.
Move the point into two requests. Ask the seller to clear access, and ask an electrician if you need a real electrical report, especially if the property will be let and a landlord certificate is the document people will ask for. Do not label the survey paragraph as an EICR in the solicitor's bundle. Say instead that the unit sits under the stairs behind paint, that this is a precaution comment, and that no landlord EICR was created by the inspection.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the consumer unit obstructed by stored paint, and did you test anything?
- Are you making a fire-precaution comment rather than issuing an EICR?
- What landlord electrical certificate has this visit not produced?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat any note as a fire-precaution comment about paint and access.
- Do not call that comment a landlord EICR.
- Instruct an electrician if a proper electrical report is needed.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the paint is in metal tins, has the fire comment gone?
Not automatically. Tins are still stored against the unit, and access may still be blocked. The survey comment, if made, is about that scene. It has still not become a landlord EICR. Paint beside the unit is not a landlord certificate.
Does a recent electrician's invoice count as the EICR?
Only if the invoice is actually that certificate, which the survey has not been shown to be. A bill for a repair is not the same document, and this visit did not create a landlord EICR. A repair bill is not that EICR.